Maxime Le Forestier is a French singer-songwriter who had a career spanning over six decades.
Wiki/Biography
Maxime Le Forestier was born Thursday, February 10, 1949 (age 73 years; as of 2022), as Bruno Le Forestier, [1]Gala in Paris. His zodiac sign is Aquarius. Beginning with the violin, he embarked on the study of music. During his secondary studies, he attended Lycée Condorcet, where he studied literature. [2]Copains d’avant L’internaute
Maxime le Forestier during his school time
Physical appearance
- Eye color: Black
- Hair color: Salt and Pepper
Family & Ethnicity
Parents and Siblings
Bruno Le Forestier is the son of Robert Le Forestier and Geneviève (née Lili 1917-2010) Le Forestier, who had previously lived in England. Two of his older sisters are Annette (born in 1943) and Catherine (Singer; born in 1946).
Catherine le Forestier
Relationships/ Affairs, Wife, Children
He has two sons: Philippe le Forestier (Production Manager), who was born to him from his relationship with a Brazilian named Bettina, and Arthur Le Forestier, also a singer, whom he had with his wife Fabienne.
Maxime le Forestier and his sons, Arthur and Philippe
Career
With his sister Catherine, he formed Cat et Maxime in 1965. The two began to play cabaret together on the left bank of Paris, where they met Georges Moustaki. A number of Moustaki songs have been covered by the band, including Ma Liberté and Ma Solitude. After joining Moustaki in 1968, Catherine sang as part of their backing band. After concentrating on songwriting, Le Forestier composed Ballade pour un traitre for French-Italian singer and actor Serge Reggiani, who recorded and released the disc.
Forestier continued to write and sing while in the army (from 1969) with a parachute regiment (the song Parachutiste was inspired by his time in the army). Three songs were recorded by him: Cœur de Pierre, Face de Lune and La Petite Fugue.
Le Forestier resumed his musical career after completing his military service in September 1970. It is believed that he developed a folk style that was immensely popular in the 1970s and 1980s. One of his former classmates, Luc Alexandre l’ invited him and his sister to stay in the Castro neighborhood of San Francisco during the summer of 1971. San Francisco, a popular song written about Allen Ginsberg’s experience and encounter, was inspired by this event.
In 1973, the French musician released his first album Mon Frère, which included several songs that now belong to French folklore, including the title track, San Francisco, Comme un arbre, and Education sentimentale. In addition to tours abroad, he also toured extensively in France. Then in 1976, he visited 14 cities across the Soviet Union.
Prizes/Honors
- 1988: Music awarded for Original Song of the Year for Born Somewhere.
- 1996: Music Winner for Male Performer of the Year.
- 2000: Commander of the Order of Arts and Letters (December 15, 2000).
- 2020: Honor Music Victory.
Autograph
Maxime Le Forestier’s autograph
Controversies
With Juliette Gréco, Pierre Arditi, and Michel Piccolian, he signed an open letter, published on May 4, 2009, for the attention of Martine Aubry, the first secretary of the Socialist Party, encouraging the Socialists to adopt the Hadopi law. As we reported on Marc-Olivier Fogiel’s May 5, 2009, broadcast, Maximum Le Forestier told us that those who were not opposed to piracy were Petainists. It has sometimes been reported that his public speaking was awkward or that he was misunderstood. Some see him as an example of an artist clinging to a disproportionate amount of rent. [3]France 24
Facts/Anecdotes
- At the age of 16, Maxime fell in love with horse riding and did it regularly. He said it helped him on stage more than mime and acting lessons.
Maxime le Forestier riding a horse-
- Maxime Le Forestier is a fan of Georges Brassens whom he discovered when he was in school. In October 1972, Maxime Le Forestier opened for his idol at the Bobino in Paris. He covered many hits by Brassen and released a complete tribute in 2005 and 2006, “Le Forestier Chante Brassens”.
- Maxime Le Forestier has participated in Les Enfoirés, the annual concert to raise money for the charity Restaurants du Cœur, since 1995.
Logo of Les Enfoirés
- Maxime Le Forestier collaborated with Élie Chouraqui in 2004, for the musical “Spartacus le Gladiateur”. He composes the music and then wrote the texts of the show, while Elie Chouraqui took care of its staging.
The cover picture of Spartacus le Gladiateur
- He performed on stage with his older sister, Catherine. They formed a duo Cat et Maxime and traveled through the cabarets of France.
- He began “San Francisco”, one of his most famous songs, with the line “It’s a blue house leaning against the hill”. Young Le Forestier lived in a blue house at 3841 18th Street in San Francisco when it was built by a hippie commune called “Hunga Dunga” in 1971. As a tribute to Le Forestier’s hippie roommates and friends, the anthem song pays homage to real people by mentioning their names. Phil Polizatto, who recalls Le Forestier’s stay in the blue house in his critically acclaimed book, Hunga Dunga: Confessions of an Unapologetic Hippie, echoes that sentiment. An official plaque acknowledging the song’s cultural significance was unveiled by the French consul in the summer of 2011 on Le Forestier’s house, which was repainted from light green to its original shade of blue.
The blue house mentioned by Le Forestier
